Guyana’s ‘Showstopper’ for World Powerlifting Championship

Carlos ‘The Showstopper’ Peterson-Griffith is the lone Guyanese who would be representing the Golden Arrowhead at next month’s World Powerlifting Championships in Sweden.
This is an undertaking that he hopes would be record breaking.
Following his participation in the FESUPO/NAPF Pan-American Regional Powerlifting Championships, ‘The Showstopper’ will continue to be busy for the next few weeks, as he heads to Halmstad, Sweden for the International Powerlifting Federation’s (IPF’s) powerlifting championships.

The Championships would be staged from September 23 to October 3, and Peterson- Griffith is hoping he can rewrite the International equipped deadlift and squat records.
In regard to being the chosen one to represent Guyana at this event, Peterson-Griffith had this to say: “Being selected as an athlete to compete at Worlds, yes, it’s one of my main dreams come true once again. With that being said, it’s not a walk in the park, you have USA, Canada, Algeria, Bulgaria, Sweden and Ukraine standing among the top 5 in the world.”
He added, “The only thing I must say that they have in front of me is the bench- press. As time, it will grow for myself. I’m not a good bench-presser at this moment, but my numbers will increase in due time.
“As mentioned earlier, I’m looking forward to break the deadlift record and also the squat record.”
Peterson-Griffith is contesting in the 93kg deadlift and squat categories.
Intent on making his mark in the IPF world, the Guyanese strongman shared his hopes that powerlifting would someday becoming an Olympic sport, so that he might attain his Olympic dream.
“Worlds is one of the biggest events besides Olympics. Only few athletes have stepped up to that arena. Mr Randolph Morgan, and I believe Mr. (Mervin) Spongy Moses doing the equipped segment,” the strongman shared.
Regarding his Olympic hopes, Peterson-Griffith said, “I’m the only Guyanese thus far to portray it in the classic segment. I’ve qualified for both, but I’m looking forward more for the classic, cause that is the discipline that will be going for the Olympics, by God’s grace. That’s after the summit at the end of November. Hopefully, we get Powerlifting in the IOC, so we’re able to step up the game a bit more.”

However, getting Peterson- Griffith to the IPF Championships was no easy task, as told by the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation’s (GAPLF’s) President, Gordon Spencer.
“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that he gets accepted to the tournament, because it wasn’t easy at first. The General Secretary (of the GAPLF) and I spent 72 hours continuously with the officials until we were able to get Carlos accepted as a participant,” Spencer told a press briefing over the weekend.
While Peterson- Griffith will be the only athlete in Sweden along with a manager and referee, a 10-member team is currently representing Guyana in Florida at the Pan Am Regional Championships.